7AFE using oil Options

[dan85204]

my 94 st is using about a quart of oil every 3,000 miles or so. i have noticed my engine does seem to be leaking oil from under the valve cover, but no puddles under the car or anything. the exhaust does not smoke.

where is my oil going? does anybody have any advice on how to fix this? or should i just live with it because it's an older engine?

i'm currently using Shell 5w-30. think i should switch to a heavier weight oil? i'm hesitant about switching to synthetic because i was told it would only leak more because it is thinnner.

i saw a thread earlier about puting automatic transmission fluid through the oil for a short period of time, and that's supposed to stop leaking. can somebody explain what that is supposed to do or how it works?

thanks,

dan

[Bitter]

Yes, ATF. 1/2 quart of 50-100 miles. ATF has ALOT of seal conditioning additives which keep all the seals in an auto trans supple and sealing for hundreds of thousands of miles. ATF will soften the valve seals and can buy you more time until you absolutely have to change them. ATF is also very high detergent and will gently break down small amounts of sludge and deposits in the crankcase. ATF does this more gently than engine rinses which can be good, i've heard of engine rinses dislodging large clumps of gunk which then block an oil passage and starve a bearing of oil pressure.